TToT – Soft Landing
Our start to the New Year has been a very soft landing.
I think I first heard the term used in conversation when one of Kidzilla’s preschool teachers talked about giving the children a “soft landing” routine in the morning. At the time I thought, “OK whatever,” but it’s actually a nice concept. And here in our post-holiday time, it feels very much like a soft landing.
For starters, Zilla and the Hub don’t go back to school and work until the fifth of January, so we still have a few days to relax and enjoy this time off. Some years, life starts up again right on January second and that always feels a little harsh. This way, we get to ease back into the routine.
We have had a wonderful holiday break filled with a perfect balance of busy days with family and friends and quiet days at home for just us. Today we’ve all spent most of the day reading and/or writing before we head out this evening. And can I brag a bit just for a minute (mostly because I’m so floored by this)? On Wednesday afternoon, Zilla plowed through the first 88 pages of a 120-page chapter book. Last night we read the final two chapters of a second book she’s been working on at bedtime each night. Today, she has read through chapters eight through twenty-three of a third book. Right now she’s finishing the final three chapters of a fourth. (Yes, she has inherited her mother’s tendency to read several at once!) These are all second-third grade reading level. She’s reading every word and can tell me the summary of each chapter. Holy cow! I am once again so glad that she is a capable and eager reader.
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The best part of the holidays this year for me, obviously, is the fact that I have been able to enjoy the holidays without the looming dread of returning to work. I have no aversion to work itself – in fact, I’m quite excited to dig into some new things next week. But working there had become an awful feeling and so enjoying the holidays minus that huge weight on my shoulders was fantastic. It allowed me to feel – and perhaps actually be – more present to the people I love. Huge thankful right there. I know I’ve talked about this so often lately, but this life change really is that huge for all of us.
I am thankful that I can still listen to Christmas music, thanks to Pandora! Christmas only begins on December 25th, not ends. I am always offended when the radio stations take the music off on the 26th. We like to enjoy the full twelve days of Christmas, right up to the feast of the Epiphany and we’re doing just that!
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I am always thankful for my Fab Hub. I am thankful that he puts up with me. I am thankful that he makes great coffee. This week I am thankful that he went around the house and replaced all the burned-out light bulbs. This may seem silly, but all of a sudden we had more burned out than functioning. So we now have normal light again and not just unintentional mood lighting.
I am thankful for a beautiful sunny winter day to enjoy today – the future feels bright and the warm(ish) sunlight reflects that. I am thankful for the many memories we have made this holiday season, for traditions old and new, and for the gift of time spent well.
Tomorrow, I’m going to be thankful for homemade meatloaf. I’ve been craving a good meatloaf meal and the subsequent leftovers for sandwiches. Yum! And on the subject of good food, please indulge me while I mention (again) that I am thankful for pants that still fit! The scale tells me this morning that while I may not have lost anything recently, I have not gained anything over the holidays either, even considering my happy indulgences.
That’s it for me, friends. I’m certain that I’ve hit ten in there and I must quit so we can get ready for our evening. And now it’s your turn to share your moments of gladness and thankfulness. You know the drill – share ’em or link ’em!
Happy New Year to all!
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Well, that’s great for you, but all my pants are too tight! But I’m going to do something about it. Hey, I need an exercise motivator. Do you jog?
I like the tree down by New Year’s. I like the effect of starting fresh and clean. But I’m glad you’re having a soft landing, just the same.
I would be a happy and willing motivator (of course hoping for motivation in return), but no I do not jog. I did many years ago and my body simply hated it. And now? With RA? Probably a mistake for my joints. But walking I do! Armed with my FitBit and my treadmill (or the sidewalk if it isn’t frigid) and my sneakers, I shall be back to my walking come Monday morning. So yeah, talk to me about that.
Part of me does indeed like the house back to normal and clean and fresh and I’m ready for it, but my target is next weekend. I’m OK with it. I think I’ve just started to live life a bit slower these last few months. I might like it.
Had that garlic soup finally. I like it. Smells divine. Taste? Eh. I didn’t dislike it, but I don’t know if it would make my top ten list. But oh the smell…so good!
Congratulations on having a wonderful start to the new year. I love the idea of a soft landing. I might have to borrow that!
Even bigger congratulations on not needing bigger pants after the holiday season!
Borrow away – the idea is certainly not mine to own!
I’m way happy on the pants thing. When you’re not tiny to begin with, these are small joys. 🙂
Your tree is so pretty! It looks like you have an ornament that is a fan made from folded sheet music. If so, we have one very similar; if not, nice ornament 🙂
Fantastic that Zilla is such a reader! I’m one of those read several books at the same time people, too!
I am praying for a snow day on Monday so I don’t have to go back to work yet, but it’s not looking very promising.
Thank you, Dyanne. I love our tree. Simple white lights and branches covered in ornaments that represent the moments and people of our lives. Each of those ornaments has a special meaning and tells a story. Together, these little stories and memories make a wonderful collection!
That ornament is indeed a fan from folded sheet music, although I think it’s more decorative sheet music than actual. That is one of the several ornaments Zilla inherited (and/or swiped) from my Mom’s tree this year.
We are looking at snow, ice, and rain in tomorrow’s forecast. Fine with me – we have two days before school and work begin again and we need to get settled down and back on schedule. But even so, I don’t think I’ll ever stop wishing for that snow day to extend the break, even if I’m not the one who has to go back!
I do several books at once…she gets it from me for sure, so I can’t really fault her for it. Great minds think alike, right? It works. And if it is one area where her distractibility can hang out, so be it. She manages to finish them all and retains, so no problem here!
Raising a reader is such a joy. A gift for her and for you as well. You can just see the world open up to her as she tackles story after story. Great stuff!
Truth be told my Christmas music listening season opens at the end of August and runs through mid-January. Can’t help myself!
I can’t wait too the things she discovers in books, May. And I love that we have this to share already. Zila comes from a long line of readers so while I’m not exactly surprised I am still thrilled!
What a beautifully written list, Lisa:)
What?! See what happens when one is technologically lagging – I had no idea Christmas music is still available! I was so sad to hear it go. Just wasn’t ready to let go.
Reading is one of the most wonderful ability/activity/indulgence/escape. Very excellent that you and your daughter can share in it. Truthfully, how do you do it? How do you read more than one book at a time?! I’ve tried but always wind up leaving one behind. lol
Congrats on the no weight gain *cheering loudly*. And the walking! I’ve had the last week off and finally got back into it myself. Every day.
Enjoy your weekend!!
Thank you!
You can still get Christmas music at Pandora.com. Browse the Holiday category. Then listen to your heart’s content!
Ha the multiple books thing I am sure is partly due to my ADHD. We are champion multi-taskers!
Walking starts again Monday. I didn’t intend to take a break from it…just kinda happened in the flurry of holidays. Happy walking to you, too!
I sure do wish the scale would lie just once to me and tell me I’d not gained any weight over the holidays. That’s fantastic that you didn’t gain anything. Happy New Year!
Well, if my scale is lying, I’ll just keep on believing it! 😀
Those fairy books made me smile–my older daughter loved those and I think we own every single one. Of course, because we own so many, the little one has shown no interest in them. She’s a Diary of a Wimpy Kid addict–no fairies allowed!
They are really cute and there is one for every occasion…and everything else! I do kinda wish I had known that there are nine bajillion of these fairy things out there…Kidzilla is a lover of “sets” so she feels compelled to seek out the entire series of something once she loves it.
Of course the younger one wants nothing to do with the books you already own! I think it’s a rule. We haven’t ventured into the Wimpy Kid ones yet, but I’ve heard they are good. We have soooo many others here to plow through first. Not a bad thing, honestly. I can’t really fault her for having the same book collecting disease I do!
How wonderful that you are raising a reader! I have always wanted my daughter to be more interested in reading, but alas, her interests lie in the math/science arena. I have also loved the extended family time of this year’s holiday season and I’ll miss it when it’s over but it will also be good to get back into a routine because I’m very much a creature of habit. Kudos for not gaining any weight over the holiday season! I was pleased as punch that I only gained two pounds and blame that squarely on excessive wine consumption. Happy New Year to you and the family.
Here’s the funny thing, Jen – as much of a reader as Zilla is, she is also a little science head. That she gets from her Dad, not me! I quit science the minute I had fulfilled my graduation requirements. 😀 It will be interesting to see where this little mind of hers takes her.
Happy New Year, Lisa. It’s wonderful your daughter is a reader. I hope she continues to read for pleasure her whole life. I love the concept of a soft landing, especially when there’s time for readjustment into routine. And light bulbs, yes. They all seem to burn out at the same time. With those new energy saving bulbs, there is always mood lighting. Enjoy the transition into 2015.
She’s a great little reader for sure, Val, and I hope that she reads for pleasure always, too. One of the things that always made me sad was to her my students say that hated to read or never read just for fun, only when assigned. I just didn’t grow up that way and it has always been something I struggle to understand. Everyone is different for sure, but there are so many things out there to read that I find it hard to think anyone could find absolutely nothing to interest them.
Our light bulbs are now all working (many the energy-saving kind, except for the light that we can’t find any for). My next item on the lighting wish list is a repaired switch in the stairway and a dimmer for the dining room!
The idea of soft landings is wonderful; I’m going to ease into the new year, too.
Yes, I’m enjoying this so much more than the ohmygodit’stimetostartallthethingsagain method I’ve been accustomed to!
Im all about the soft landing … didnt work this year for some reason… Maybe my frame of mind is just a bit too hard headed lately? Anyway. I am so happy you have a voracious reader on your hands! THose are some of my best childhood memories (reading)! Happy New YEar!
I have such great memories of reading, too, Zoe. I was always reading. I can remember my Dad, though, often saying something about me never having my nose anywhere but in a book. Couldn’t see what was wrong with that since he was a pretty avid reader himself. 😀
I’m so glad your daughter is such an avid reader as well. Lily’s been reading through all the books she’s gotten for the holiday, having finished one and working on two more. Today, when we were discussing her birthday, I asked her what she wanted, and she replied: Books, of course!
Work you don’t enjoy is indeed not fun! Been there, and I’m glad I am now working at a job (when I’m not on parental leave) that I absolutely love most of the time! I wish you all the best growing your business!!
Enjoy the coming days with your beautiful family!
Books for her birthday – woo hoo! So much fun to go to the bookstore together and pick out books. We had such a good time doing that this week.
Does your Lily read to you yet?
oy I am so ready for school to start again. I am so so so ready.
I have learned to appreciate the song line “and Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again” in a whole new way, for sure. I am kind of ready for these people to go back to school and work and leave me to my work-at-home devices. But at the same time, I know come Monday morning around 10AM I am so going to miss the sound of her footie-pajama-clad feet sliding across the floor asking me to make her “Mommy eggs” for breakfast.
I got nothing that hasn’t been said already, but your list is fab 😀 Well done you for being a willing motivator 🙂
Thanks! It’s been a fab week and holiday so a pretty easy list!
I shall do my best to motivate!
I’m thankful that Zilla reads as she does (reading has been my forever love and I so hope Tucker loves it too – he’s just now saying “how do you spell?” which I so hope is a start for him, however late…
Here’s to good coffee, and next week not sucking because of better working ideas that the “that” one. xo
I think that is a great sign! It’s interest and curiosity! Late be damned. Each in his own time.
Sounds like a wonderful break. To a great 2015 ahead, Lisa.
We’ve had an absolutely gorgeous time, Michelle! Happy 2015 to you as well!
Yay for little kids who like to read! I can’t fathom reading more than one book at a time. I never do it. My kids don’t either, but they do read their favorite books over and over. I don’t do that either. 🙂
Oh how I enjoy meatloaf! Unfortunately, my family isn’t thrilled with it, so I don’t make it very often. Have a piece for me.
And, like Sarah, my pants don’t fit either, but mine is more because of the knee than the holiday gorging. Let’s get moving! 🙂
I am certain that the multiple books thing has everything to do with my ADHD – I’m sure of it. And I do re-read favorites, but only particular ones. Haven’t done that in a while because I have so many newer ones to get through all the time!
I absolutely love meatloaf – home meatloaf, anyway – it’s like the ultimate comfort food. To me, that’s like a hug from Mom. We are having the leftovers to night, so I’ll grab an extra for you. Oh! and for a family that doesn’t care to have it? Make little meat pods, rather than a whole loaf, and freeze them. Then you can take out for just you when you like. Not quite the same, but one way to do it!
I am getting on the treadmill tomorrow morning because I want to keep from growing smug about my pants and find in three weeks that mine no longer fit! I’m game!
meatloaf! (the food, not the singer)…what an excellent suggestion! Your mention brings back memories of school lunches with a meatloaf sandwich (where the ketchup totally soaks through the bread, having sat in my locker the entire morning… and for reasons totally un-clear, I remember the #bites-swollow game in the cafeteria… you know, ‘3 bites and swallow!’
the things we remember! lol
Isn’t meatloaf terrific? I always loved my meatloaf sandwiches with mayonnaise, personally. But there is nothing quite like a meatloaf sandwich! I do not know the three bits swallow game…gonna have to look that one up!
Love your list!
And meatloaf…hmm yes please. With applesauce for the kids and onion mash for the grown-ups.
I love meatloaf. I can’t say it’s something I would order out somewhere, but I love it at home! We had with plain old bread filling and homemade cranberry sauce. Never served with applesauce, but that would also be good!
We still have our Christmas tree up. I intended on keeping it up through the Day of the Three Kings. It’s a tradition I started in my own house because since I teach Spanish, I loved the idea of the kids in Latino countries putting their shoes out on the night of the 5th and getting candy and money for the Feast of the Three Kings.
So…even though I don’t have kids (200 kids at school is quite enough for right now, lol), I love to keep on celebrating all the 12 days of Christmas. 🙂
I was saying over at my blog I quit my teaching job in 2012 to teach at a community college part time and write part time (eventually writing full time). Alas, that didn’t quite work out, but I’m setting the intention to work at home again. Perhaps tutoring, and writing. Yes. I think I love that idea. Okay…I should get back to that novel. Haha.
Ours will stay up one more week, until the feast of the Lord’s Baptism, because I just didn’t have the heart or energy to tear it down today yet. True, we celebrated the Epiphany at Mass this morning, but technically, that day is January 6th. So we’ll do our small decorations this week and the tree next weekend. I did not know about the shoes on the eve of the fifth before the feast of the Three Kings! Sounds an awful lot like St. Nicholas day in December…proof that it’s all so similar, no matter where you go!
I’m kind of in that same boat work-wise, Cynthia. I took the leap to leave the job and work from home, and now I’m kind of figuring out what exactly that entails. Some tutoring, some writing, looking for other things, too – editing, transcription. I figure if I have a few variations, if one well dries up, I still have other options.
Good luck with the novel(s)! 😀
I am with you on Christmas music and hate every year when the stations end their Christmas music playing on December 26th, which only adds to my Christmas blues mood usually on that day. But still so glad you had a great Christmas holiday and now want to wish you a very, Happy New Year, too 🙂
Then you definitely have to hit Pandora! Happy new year to all of you, too, Janine!
I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a “take the tree down” on December 26 kind of person although I do usually leave the wreath on the front door and the nativity set out until epiphany. My husband was a little zealous this year though and all our Christmas decorations are down including the nativity although the wreath hasn’t made it to the basement storage yet. Your tree is definitely beautiful though! It is always nice to ease back into the routine and I hope it went smoothly for your daughter (and you) today. I’m afraid we are going to be facing a few rough mornings starting on Wednesday when my boys return to school.
Jean, I always say to each his/her own! Everyone has to enjoy the holidays in the way that’s best for them!
Today was a pretty smooth start overall. Good luck on Wednesday!
Mmmmm, meatloaf sounds great! Adding it to my rotation! Way to go on the reading Zilla!I love seeing my kids blossom into readers! I’ve been enjoying Spotify for my Christmas music fix! I love technology! Happy New Year and Blessed Epiphany!
I love meatloaf…and it was great!
I didn’t know Spotify had holiday muSic. My Husband has his stiff up on there but I didn’t realize Christmas would be. Huh.
Happy New Year and a Blessed Epiphany to you, too!
I love meatloaf with brown gravy! I also love my l mother in law’s turkey loaf. Your little one is on a roll. It reminds me of when I used to read books like the Babysitters Club or stories that were by the kid sister. I can’t remember the name. Oh and Judy Blume! I remember feeling so cool when I could read without speaking. 🙂
I think I read everything Judy Blume ever wrote. The Babysitters Club stuff came out after I was too old for it – my baby sister read them, though (I think).
Hope you’re feeling well!
Looks like you had a fabulous holiday season! We did at our house also. It was extra special this year…. now I am organizing, cleaning and purging because January is not my favorite month. Will have all spring cleaning done before spring then I can enjoy once again the warm weather!!!! Happy 2015!
Hey, nice to see you here again! Happy new year to you!
Sounds like a good plan to me, especially with all that beautiful land you have to enjoy. Happy cleaning!
Meatloaf!! And oh how I love that you didn’t have to have that burden of ‘work’ awaiting after break. I know that dread, and I am SO glad you were without it so that you could really embrace the time and holiday spirit with your loved ones!!
I absolutely love how you said that the 25 is the BEGINNING of it all…. The Christmas Story lives on, FROM that day. Beautiful. <3
We have enjoyed Christmas to its fullest, Chris. It has been wonderful. Not having that looming dread was wonderful. That said I am now looking foward to getting some work moving, but now on my terms, not under those conditions. Here’s to what’s ahead!